In fact, in the past month PLUG stock is up 182% — quite an end of the year boom for investors who invested in PLUG. In the past year, it’s up 331%.

As InvestorPlace noted in the beginning of December, the fuel cell maker has not seen a net income since 1999, and announced that come 2014 it expects to turn a profit.

Investors were upbeat already as the stock had by that jumped to record levels.

Solar stocks are booming just as PLUG stock has seen its shares rise.

Solar stocks such as SolarCity (SCTY), First Solar (FSLR), and Canadian Solar (CSIQ) have all seen increases in the past month as alternative energy looms large in the national conscience. Similarly, Tesla (TSLA) is up 20% in the past month — another sign alt energy is resonating well.

Plug Power is an alternative energy technology company that designs, develops, and manufactures fuel cell systems for industrial off-road markets.

As industry analysts point out, these fuel cell modules have distinct advantages over batteries. Though cost is higher, big-name companies such as Walmart (WMT), Sysco (SYY), and Coke (CCE) have invested in Plug Power’s fuel cell fork lifts for their distribution centers/warehouses.

And the more companies warm up to Plug Power only creates additional buzz.

Note that pre-2013, alternative energy stocks were largely ignored — until a time when investors saw a potential for profit. And profit — or inklings of profit — were what began to happen in 2013.